I am happy now but I wasn’t always. I started out wanting to take the on the world. To conquer everything to rise to the top. But over time those accomplishments that I had done, I was not thinking much of them. I figured go bigger, do bigger, be bigger.

Instead of being grateful that I had carved my way into the publishing business and being an illustrator for others and two publishing companies, I still felt like I hadn’t done enough.

I am now a published author of 4 books and yet still I felt lost I didn’t think much of it. But I was so wrong in my thinking. I have done more than what I set out to do. I accomplished so many of my bucket list items, and can honestly say I worked damn hard to get here.

I haven’t had it easy, life has challenged me every step of the way and I didn’t give up, No I couldn’t give up.

What fueled me was that voice in the back of my mind that kept telling me what had been drilled in my head from abuse from my parents and my ex that I would never amount to anything.

I was determined to prove them wrong, all of them. They tried to choke the life out of me but I was not going to let them. No one had that kind of hold on me, so I thought. And yet I stood there with hundreds of paintings I had done for customers and books I had written just staring at myself in the mirror still feeling like I wasn’t good enough to accept being happy about it.

And then it hit me, you will never be happy unless you are happy right now! If we are always looking for the next thing then the moment is lost on the accomplishment in front of us.

So what I am trying to say is, be happy right now in this moment. Take whatever little wins you get and be grateful for them now, don’t wait until its passed and not appreciate what you have. Apply that kind of mindset and life is not so hard and things we do maybe not a big deal to others but to us it is. Keep on the positives wherever you can find them, no matter how big or how small. It will keep you when you fall into that negative thinking, those voices in the back of your head trying to ruin the present moment.

SO today I am grateful that I have these books published and are out for the world to see, for those paintings I did which is a piece of me.

While some claim video games are the cause of violence I can honestly and matter of factly disagree.

I play video games myself. Like Destiny 2, Crackdown 3, Forza horizon 4, amongst other games.

I can say with all certainty I am not a violent person.

I do this as a pass time to decompress from the day of stressful life situations.

Video games for most people is a recreation, a hobby or passion. I know gamers too who play and they have jobs and family and lives outside of it.

Many agree it is a time to relax and get your aggravations out on the game. It’s fun, its frustrating at times, but it’s also rewarding too.

To be on the extremely cautious parent level, I have to say for me as a parent I do regularly check and talk about violence and gaming with my children. Gaming as a parent of kids who play I actively monitor what they play.

Why?

Well Of course I wouldn’t allow them to play games that are not AGE appropriate and they know that asking me will only result in a ‘no not till your older’ answer. Because there mind is not equipped to handle some of the adult content, example; sex and mature situations within the games that are rated 18+.

But when we are talking about someone who is not well mentally and they play this it makes no difference to the reality that they are unwell and no Matter what games they watch or engage in they are the issue not the game itself.

A parent who knows that there is an issue with the child like mental health they themselves need to take those precautions that some dont decipher which is reality and which is not. And that comes down to parenting, not the game itself.

Ultimately if we are to begin picking on something it should have to do with not enough resources for the people who are in need of mental health facilities.

Point the blame where it belongs, we need less wait times for people wanting counseling, for police to be educated more on mental health, for more educated doctors and teachers who care and put the patient or student in the right hands when those flags appear.

Blaming Games itself is not where the problem lies. It’s a distraction from what needs to be done.

So pleased to be recently asked to do an author review from a well known reviewer Fiona McVie.

After adding her recently on Facebook I was asked to do it. And since I have my new book out I thought it fitting and perfectly timed.

This new book is sure to get the imagination of young minds in what I am hoping to be a series of stories of adventures with the two likeable characters in not only just children’s but I am hoping to have a youth book as well as a comic eventually.

This is my fourth and not last book! I am so happy to do something that will make children’s faces light up. The thought of a child loving my books is what I aspire to do. I am eternally grateful and happy to share my books with others. Soon to be audio. Just as soon as I figure it out lol.

I have been in a mental slump. Not a creative slump but I felt as though things weren’t moving as well as I would like them to be and no matter what someone tell you, you are the worst critic.

Sometimes life happens I get that, but in retrospect, it always does. Life doesn’t stop or give you a break because you can’t take it. No life is really crappy and hard and being an adult with constant worry and responsibility is all part of the fun. But how we decide to embrace those life challenges and how we react to it will either stop you or fuel you to carry on.

For my well being I needed to get away for a while to gauge things and reset. So, back in November I went to the UK to clear my head, meet some old friends and ultimately get some perspective about my life and the direction I wanted it to go.

It was an amazing experience, and if you have never gone alone on a trip I advise it highly. It shakes your core and wakes you up! And the wonderful thing about going alone is that you don’t have to wait for anyone and if you want to go somewhere you can! lol

While there I explored and thought long and hard about all I had done everything I wanted to do so far with my own personal goals and ambitions. But I also realized that I was not challenging myself in the correct manner.

What do I mean? well I put my self in constant states of stress adding more and more projects to keep my head spinning, but what was I doing to grow creatively on a personal level?

We all are looking for that almighty dollar yes, but what are we doing to help that on our own scale of things? Are we improving our craft? or are we simply regurgitating what we already know and can do well?

If you are good at what you do then why change it? It’s not about changing it. More like it is a continual flex and practice so that you can make it better!

So I decided that no matter how busy I get I will always make time to challenge myself daily to improve.

Whether it is sketching once a day for yourself or writing a poem or page in your book or walking everyday etc. It is about fine tuning the you to make a better version of yourself.

We can easily get lost with work and responsibilities. But it is also our job to maintain our core so that we always shine bright even when the world isn’t.

You will be happier and the ones you love will see it and feel that too. SO what you do as a personal challenge for yourself will make you better and keep the creative juices flowing and flexing that ever present muscle.

I often get ideas for various artworks and such but rarely do I get the opportunity to follow through, just because my other work obligations tends to demand a lot of my time.

I however decided to put one concept idea into reality mainly because I found it challenging and wanted to see the extent of my idea and where I wanted to go with it.

Creativity has no limits so I embarked on what was only a small idea and it grew from there. Not sure if I will do anything with this now but I did thoroughly enjoy the process that I am starting to look into working on upgrading my skills and knowledge into concept art and all that it entails.

It may seem on the surface easy enough, but trust me when I say it really isn’t.

Concept art is used to visualize ideas and bring not only the character but the whole idea behind the character. The environment in which it resides its vehicles and other essentials behind it.

Not only are you giving this visual idea but also you have to be quite detailed. What weapons will they use how will it move, what will take place. What are the characters personality features, can you do multiple views of the same character, front, back, side etc. Some may even want to see what it would look like jumping or other positions to really get a handle on how the character moves.

Learning these things and creating the character in different positions with the massive attention to detail will get you noticed.

What education do you need? Well when it comes down to it, its all about what you can produce. So if you have a university degree or you are self taught its all on what you can present.

Practice is essential and skill will come from the more of it you do and learn. I have been lucky so far because as a illustrator for children’s books you have to be able to make the same character move in various positions.

So one of the greatest skills to have is the ability to do atomically correct characters in any position. So I would start off by practicing. It’s a very competitive business to get into and there are some fantastic artists out there but remember not everyone has your style either, so don’t get discouraged!

Put your artwork on places like Behance and Artstation and more to get people to notice you and your abilities, the more places you have your art the better the opportunity arises to get noticed and get a chance to work with a company who appreciates what you have to offer!

Alright lets get rid of the January Blahs with a little fun! I am giving away one signed copy of my poetry book to a lucky winner Feb 1st 2019. I will ship it lovingly to your home IF you love poetry, want something free and love to read!

SO what’s the catch? you HAVE TO SHARE! the more you can get your friends to share the more chances you have to win! so SHARE this poetry link and you will qualify to win! I will announce the Winner February 1st on my blog and all you gotta do is message me info for your prize! May the sharing-ist sharer win!

SO lets get this show on the road! Here is what I want you to share: this blog or this link that takes you to my link shown below!

2019 its upon us. So now you have all these big aspirations and plans right? This year will be different.. this year you are going to lose that weight, eat better, change your job blah blah blah. Sound familiar?

Well, if all you do is get up in the morning and live another day and say you made it then far be it from me to judge you.

We don’t have to aspire just because its a new year, if anything now is the time of reflection. Time to see how far we have come. Pat yourself on the back instead of beating yourself up for all the things you didn’t do. The year has gone by and things have changed. You have changed. Think about the loved ones you met the people around you who impacted your life and made it better. Think about the choices you’ve made and the life you are living now.

The future is the future, it is another day that you haven’t been to yet and you can most definitely change it if you want to, but its up to you and only you and no one can tell you how to get there or what you need to do. Only you can. All these superficial things we worry about are not important, they are time wasters, destroyers of happiness, total bullshit.

Be happy now and in the moment of your day and if you decide you would like to change something, do that and let it be personal to you. Those are the victories that mean anything. The ones that you keep and the ones you decide whatever time of year in which you want to do that. Never mind the stupid photos you see on social media of all the people supposedly doing something… in a month they will have given up just like they do every year. Trust me on that I have seen it a thousand times. I can see it now everyone in march (being generous here) asking to cancel there memberships lol.

SO, be kind to yourself. No one cares at the end of the day what it is you have done because it is not them, care about it because YOU want to do it because it matters to YOU. If anyone sees it and praises you, bonus! But otherwise stop worrying about everyone else and what they are doing that you aren’t. People these days are so self absorbed it wont matter in a month anyway. Instead just be kind, be thoughtful, don’t hurt anyone and live your life that makes you happy ❤

Namaste

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Lizy J Campbell

Home site: https://lizywhothefunk.blog/
Home grown from Ontario Canada, a city girl. Just an ordinary girl with a dream and a plan.
Always had a sense of style and clarity looking beyond the city life. As a child, a sponge absorbing the world and all in it, I then became a mother of two.
I realized that life is too short not to want to be all the things you dream of. Because of it, I have now decided that nothing is more important than being who you are and loving yourself and all that you do. Discovering things all over through child’s eyes and wonder on my own, I am reborn again and refreshed. Eat breathe sleep art. Kids are inspiring me to discover the new and unchanged part of the creative me now morphing into Lizzywhothefunkc.
Pushing to the limits and thinking outside the boundaries of art. Lost in color, lost in paint, lost in me. No one can tell you not to live a dream no one can tell you to put the paint brush on your self-worth down and be someone who reflects only another. Be free, be whom you want to be, most of all be happy. I am and never have been happier than I am right now the present moment.
Don’t ever let go of what you think will bring out your soul. A fire has been lit within and I will never put it out again. Headphones on world out, this funky lady is Dj for her own life song.
https://www.twine.fm/Lizzywhothefunkc